Alienation
by Anna Marcelli Palmer
Summary: I looked at them in disgust. A kleptomaniac, a weird "uncle", a firtatious mother, and a psychopath are before me, while my father is saving his cuties. No. The worst part isn't that these are the saviors of the world. Unfortunately, they are my family.


**This just popped into my mind all of a sudden, and I felt like writing it. So, here I am with a huge one-shot! I own nothing, I hope nothing, I am...well, I am _something. _What, I don't know.

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Alienation, _by Anna Marcelli Palmer_

She could see it.

Underlying, slight, almost imperceptible, it wouldn't be discerned at first sight. Yet there she was, light chocolate gems monitoring every stage of the process; hands sheltered each other in awkwardness, eyes rolled slyly to conceal thoughts behind a fake wince which struggled to impersonate an affable smile. Obnoxious. Pitiful. Repulsive. Sure enough, there were many different terms to describe such a spectacle, albeit none of them seemed able to achieve an accurate interpretation.

Then everything changed. Warmth imbued his characteristics, genuine and pure. Hints of uncertainty somewhat ruined what was planned to be a happy family moment, gleaming in ruby eyes. As for her, she had nothing else to do than just stand there, watching the man open his mouth repeatedly, yet with none of the normally expected results like, say, words, or, with a tad bit of further luck, wholesome sentences.

Lips were pressed together with all of her might. The adolescent, understanding and generally tactful, had decided not to interrupt him. Like a girl that had been taught manners, the female remained silent and immobile, eyeballs watching the older hedgehog's torture with a reserved interest. He was funny.

"You..." the great victory over his verbal numbness had been achieved. It wasn't much of a surprise, though; it happened randomly, but, for some reason, never seemed to end to what he conclusion was initially intended to be. Every interaction left a bizarre feeling of incompleteness. Words behind words, gestures behind gestures belied the true meaning of her uncle's regular visits.

"...have your mother's eyes"

The subject of the declaration remained wide, a few blinks interrupting that policy. If there were a single word to describe what transpired inside her head that very moment, the winner would definitely be "overdrive"; her eyes were brown, cunning, a malicious sparkle complementing the whole weird impression her view gave. Her mother's eyes shined with optimism ever since she knew her, a stunning tone of emerald green. Her father's eyes too.

The dark pink animal let a slight sigh escape her lips, palms traveling their way through highlighted red quills, before the ebony one, forlorn, declaring defeat, withdrew reluctantly, as he stepped back and threw himself in the perished, green armchair.

...And, like this, another failed attempt to reveal her the truth ended.

The female teen smirked, after she had made sure there was no witness of the scene. Then, returning to the fake atmosphere of the room, half closed orbs roamed the surroundings, resting instantly on each of the faces they met.

A whole lot of people were present, the kind of the secretive acquaintances that are, somehow always there, with a falsified smile distorting their horrendous internal traits. Those monstrosities of reality are, apparently, self-proclaimed "friends".

First of them, sitting right next to the fireplace, look attached to the priceless gem resting on the desk by the door, totally oblivious to its fate, was an albino bat, overflowing with charm. A violet, utterly revealing dress embraced gracefully her somewhat plump, yet irrefutably feminine body, which she would always show off via that _whorish_ clothing. Whenever she asked her mother about her, the only response she would get was that Rouge used to be a spy working for the government, and a talented "Treasure Hunter". The only and bitter truth was that that woman was nothing more than a plain kleptomaniac. Irrevocably addicted to jewels, every time she was to visit the house all precious things had vanished on purpose at least two weeks before. A diamond necklace mysteriously disappeared from her parents' closet one day. About a week later she descended the stairs only to find her mom chattering happily with the ivory female. The former was wearing a diamond necklace. The latter a repulsive bruise on the left eye. Nevertheless, both were drinking tea.

Moving on, in the already known to us, jade piece of furniture, was the man that had just stirred her attention. Slender, athletic and handsome, he could be easily described as a loner, rarely willing to talk, let alone smile. Still, the guy would always come to see her, along with his candy, cds, books, small yet cute jewels and other similar stuff. The girl could, even now, feel his penetrating, crimson orbs, following her every motion, gently, shyly, but possessively at the same time.

Uncle Shadow.

The most intriguing person of the gang. Notorious about his immense power, the sole anti-hero of the team was the reason her mother groomed herself to a fault whenever he and his, as mentioned before, candy, cds, books, and stuff visited them. She flinched at the thought. It was just two days ago the two had entered the library, in a tuxedo and a black dress respectively.

Wince.

When they came out, she was immediately sent to her room, accompanied by indignant yells. But from the little she saw, the teen would now swear things were vice versa.

The next guest of tonight's show was the ultimate epitome of the saying "appearances can be deceiving". Having made herself comfortable on the lavish brand new couch, the young rabbit had everything she passionately and conclusively despised; Cream was disgustingly cute, a smile of supernatural width residing her face no matter what, supplementing the astounding look of two huge, shimmering, hazel eyes. No one would dare to ever speak the murky, plus dismal, truth; the so-called renowned sidekick of her mother dexterously hid her true identity behind exclamations of pure naivety and childish, cheerful manners.

The rabbit would always carry two tiny Chao with her she called ludicrous names. It had initially been thought that, due to immaturity, it was natural for erratic, ever-happy Cream to give her little pals culinary names such as "Chocola", and "Cheese". Kids do silly things all the time after all, and no indications said that she would comprise an exception. Thus, nobody paid attention to the girl's weird manners until the day Amy found out Cheese was missing.

The rest is history. No one ever disclosed information on the issue, and sadly, the only words she made it to discern that day, for the closed door muffled voices to no end, were "indigestion" and "cornflakes".

Arms brought around Cream's shoulders tenderly, a yellow fox waved his twin tails distractedly in the air, whilst his aquamarine eyes literally scrutinized her father. Thin lips struggled to suppress a malignant smile. No admiration lied in that expression. No friendship, or even companionship. No. It was something else.

Hatred.

Miles Prower, the famous genius and up-and-coming scientist, hated him who was thought to be his best friend since time immemorial. It was a fact rather hard to believe, nevertheless the hedgehog knew it, just as she knew much, much more than _they_ would, probably, ever require her to; it only took a glance for those experienced optics to detect that tiny shadow which ruined the otherwise perfect facade, clear hints of the rage seething behind it, threatening to scorch the benign surface.

Of course, Dad would never notice how jealousy saturated Tails' face whenever he was the one to save the day, leaving the kitsune overshadowed by his own actions of immense bravery. Blue Blur was busy saving his repugnant, awfully sweet, ever-known "damsels in distress". What a hobby. Sure enough, he didn't support discrimination; from genies to human princesses, everyone was welcome.

Next.

Ah, yes. Next was the _poor guy. _

Red spines, amethyst eyeballs, strong stature. The echidna sat casually on the side of the couch, leaning sleepily against the side pillow, legs resting on the rim of the small table before him. Little did somebody who met the guy for the first time know what Knuckles' terrible fate was. Poor thing, he was physically and emotionally attached to an object, of all things on earth.

From the little she knew on the subject, men were the kind of weird species that was capable of attaining the most unbelievable things, sure, but normally that was for the sake of err, well, _stuff _that carried two legs and, hopefully, a brain. But when things came to an _emerald_, then the animal's mental well-being was anyone's guess.

Of course, so huge a precious stone was as likely to skip Rouge's attention as a cat to babysit a rodent. It was obvious what had transpired when the ivory mammal turned up crying. Who knows, she may had been the one to lose the cat-fight.

Spectacularly ending tonight's event, the camera followed that vertiginous sequence of faces to rest on a lean, white, golden-eyed male with an exceptionally peculiar haircut, popping out of his head to fork unnaturally. Eyes vacant, one couldn't say much about his current condition. The last addition to the gang was none other than Silver, which, plainly, could not but be in compliance with the expectations of the group.

Even the weather in autumn was less fickle than that hedgehog, and the girl knew that someone who had been taken in by a ridiculous person void of mouth and a shadow didn't deserve even her pettiest amount of attention. The perpetually ambivalent, so-called "hero" was the true essence of naivety, an element of his personality rather dangerous and absolutely annoying.

What held her father from doing away with his practically useless presence in the team was an issue yet to be answered. Never had she liked that _psychokinetic psychopath. _

However, her father had obviously had to, for motives of both yearned for longevity and image.

_Look how pathetic and ridiculous they all are. _

A thick, smooth voice brought her back to reality, calling her name for the third time, each letter uttered with passion, vividness, theatricality.

"Maria" the namesake was not sure as to what the reason of hers being named that was; nevertheless the speculation she had formed on the subject was something rather better to be forgotten.

Face turned to meet Shadow's, look vacant.

"Won't you sit down?", the first Ultimate Life Form to ever get afflicted by amnesia crossed his arms, in a failed attempt to achieve an innovation, "with me?" now the tone was far less confident.

Breath accelerated. Blood froze devastatingly in the veins. Time flew a little faster than syrup, every poignant "tick" of the clock reaching the ears like a gunshot.

Images danced in Maria's brain. Counterfeit laughter echoing along with the clinking sound of glasses. Compliments between females still carrying marks from yesterday's fight. Crimson fixated on green, looks overflowing with burning desire, the scene being complemented by a zany musical background whose purpose is to belie the heart-shattering cries of pleading Chao behind the sealed door. Crystal blue eyes on her father, the look of an assassin glaring in them, while the potential prey was busy with Shahra, and Elise, and Sally.

She couldn't stay anymore, not for a single minute.

No.

No.

NO.

"A-actually", the troubled teen mumbled, "I would rather go out"

Gasp. Nobody was entitled to talking like this in there. Absurd. Outrageous. Horrendous. The list could go on, and yet the characterization of her action wouldn't be done. Fourteen fried eggs stared at her, mouths gaping in awe.

A recurrent beeping noise in her head introduced a blinking indication, _Game Over! Game Over! Game Over! _

"Oh", was the fluent answer.

"Yeah"

"..."

"Take some fresh air, relax, you know...some time to be alone"

The suspicious look subsided to give its place to a tiny, yet optimistic and proud, smile. The black male gave a tender, caring and utterly parental peek to the younger animal, one that seemed to cry out _Genes are something incredible. _

"Okay" heart fluttered in relief at those mere letters, "Then..so be it"

Maria glared at them for the last time before she stepped back and decidedly opened the front door. Rushing out before someone decided to object, the girl released all the rage, disgust, and anger on a crumpled bottle of coca-cola lying on the sidewalk, and watched it with satisfaction as it made its first and last voyage to obscurity.

A triumphant smirk appeared on those thin lips.

Nonchalantly, she made for the park.

* * *

One thousand and fifty two, one thousand and fifty five, one thousand and fifty six.

Err, seven.

They were countless. Back resting casually on a worn tree trunk, skin protected by the enervating and annoyingly happy sunlight, orbs monitored passersby, observed behaviors and overheard conversations with curiosity.

People. So odd a sound to the ear, yet so alluring and intriguing.

"Like they are calling for you to get them, huh?"

Startled, the female turned to see she wasn't alone. Someone was there, talking to her, and, apparently, whoever it was they shared the same interests, that was for sure.

Face met with a somewhat aged, round-shaped one. No sooner had the stranger made his appearance than Maria got used to his presence next to her. Luckily, no self-introduction was necessary; cohorts recognize one another.

"You tell me"

Slight, but genuine nonetheless, laughter echoed. A moment of silence followed, then they both returned to gazing at the world practicing its ever-favorite hobby; moving on.

A woman carried two enormous bags full of today's shopping while, on the other side of the road, a schoolgirl in a pair of ripped jeans was bickering loudly with someone via her cell. And the eye, experienced now, wanted more, and went deeper, and made out a man in a black suit, a strident look on his face, carrying a briefcase. And there! An old lady crossing the street. And there! Two friends chatting on a bench. All of them small, albeit precious pieces of what comprises our civilization.

"I hate my parents", she declared coldly.

Slowly, at a steady pace, her companion nodded in agreement.

"I hate your parents too"

Eyes lit up.

"You really do?"

"Yes"

The youngster shook her head as she plunged her nails in the muddy soil.

"They are so popular, and jumpy-happy, and everyone likes them. I hate being ignored, but when they are around, it happens all the time", the list of complaints had already started, "and da-err, fath- err, I mean uncle Shadow thinks I am stupid, and I don't see what's going on between him and my mother"

Slow, deep exhale.

A warm hand met her shoulder in consolation.

"I know"

"They are repulsive" the voice was considerably distorted, due to the amount of hatred stuffed savagely into it. Yet another time, Maria's counterpart simply nodded.

"The world is pathetic", she remarked bitterly, and then added, teeth gritting "I don't want to be like this!"

Cunning, wide, dark. Despite being oblivious to the cause, she liked the smile that followed the exclamation. The man had now stood up, and was attempting to tidy up the mess on his clothes, removing small branches and sweeping the mud off his gloves.

A pair of black sunglasses hid it, but at that moment, he looked at her.

"You don't have to" his right arm reached for the hedgehog, "If you follow me"

Bliss, hope, and an immense amount of wild amusement flooded her heart. Fragile, delicate fingers touched aged, thick ones, and soon she stood next to the human.

"Of course I will!"

Look roamed for an elusive moment, then decreased its pace to a halt to examine her. Expression changed to what was nothing but unprecedented to him.

"But..." shyness weakened the tone, "on one term"

The kid shrugged.

"Shall I be your..." an unknown feeling of warmth and affection hampered the attempt, "...Dad?"

* * *

The sun was setting, the trees leaning peacefully over the road being the sole witnesses of the scene. In the loneliness of the horizon, two shadows, a lean and an egg-shaped one, were making their way home, every step forward getting them closer to world domination.

She was happy for the very first time in her life. Away from the lies, the facade and all those deplorable people, she smiled, feeling her soul ready to explode in sheer joy.

Maria Robotnik the second had joined the dark side. Nevertheless, she took to it. Doubt was for the weak. She had found everything she needed. A person that hated the same things as her.

Sonic team and the World.

And guess what!

...He had candy...

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**I know what most of you think...It was dark and crazy...**

**I don't hate the characters. I actually love them...however strange that sounds...XD!**

**But I had a hell of a time writing it, which I hope you felt reading it!**

**Cheers to you who made it to the end without a major mental disorder -laughs-**

**Byez!**


End file.
